Mop or broom having a detachable synthetic or sponge rubber head



Sept. 18, 1962 3,054,127

. H. A. PETSCH ETAL MOP OR BROOM HAVING A DETACHABLE SYNTHETIC OR SPONGE RUBBER HEAD Filed Feb. 8. 1960 INVENTORS HAROZDA. P173677 JOHN J R/O/QDA/V United States Patent 3,054,127 MOP OR BROOM HAVING A DETACHABLE SYN- THETIC OR SRGNGE RUBBER HEAD Harold A. Petsch and John J. Riordan, Minneapolis, Minn; said Riordan assignor to said Petsch Filed Feb. 8, 1961), Ser. No. 7,336 2 Claims. (Cl. 15244) This invention relates broadly to household cleaning implements, and more particularly to an implement that serves both as a mop and a broom.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a cleaning implement for general use having a working head which may be used as a broom or a dry mop and/ or as a wet mop.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning implement for general household use wherein the cleaning component is preferably formed of absorbent material such as natural sponge rubber or its synthetic equivalent contoured to completely engage all floor, ceiling and wall surfaces.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning implement for general household use wherein the said cleaning component is readily detachable from its supporting means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning implement for general household use wherein the sup porting means for the cleaning component is flexible to thus impart controlled pressure to the cleaning component relative to its handle member and the surface to which the invention is manually applied.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning implement for general household use that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and comprised of components that are readily replaceable if broken or worn out.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application and in which drawings, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the following devices and combination of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View partly in section, taken on the line 11 of FIG. 2, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view, some parts being sectioned and broken away;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the parts shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, some parts being broken away;

The numeral 7 illustrates a broom or mop head that is preferably fabricated of an absorbent material such as natural sponge rubber or its synthetic equivalent. In connection with this component of the invention, it is further important to note that the same should be formed of a pliable flexible material rather than of the Well known synthetic sponge material that is hard and brittle when dry. The importance of the flexibility is emphasized by the fact that the subject invention is highly successful as a dry mop or broom and further, very efficiently acts as a dry duster for walls, ceilings, and the like. This broom or mop head 7 is contoured to work well into corners and under and around wall and floor supported objects and is provided with a longitudinally disposed slot or cavity 8 for purposes that will presently appear.

A pair of longitudinally disposed torsion spring arms 9 are formed, each form a single piece of relatively heavy spring wire and comprise depending mounting leg members 10, laterally disposed coiled springs 11, and upwardly and outwardly flared mop or broom mounting members 12. The depending mounting members 10 are longitudinally disposed and are provided with inturned inner end portions 13 for handle engagement as will presently become apparent. The laterally disposed coiled springs 11 extend outwardly in a horizontal plane at substantial right angles to the members 10 and comprise a plurality of convolutions. At the top of the outermost convolution of the coiled springs 11 the spring wire is bent upwardly and outwardly at an oblique angle, see numeral 14, to a length comparable to the depth of the slot 8 in the mop or broom head 7. The wire is then bent inwardly in a plane parallel to the underlying coiled springs 11, see numeral 15, and thence downwardly, see numeral 16, to the axial center of the outer end of each respective coiled spring 11 where each end portion of the wire is inturned and terminated, see numeral 17, where the same is held in spring tensioned engagement. with the interior of the respective coiled springs 11.

It will be understood that the inner and downward run 16 of the spring wire must be drawn outwardly against its own inherent spring tension to the engagement of its inturned end portion 17 with the coiled springs 11 and is securely held so positioned .by said tension.

A handle member 18 is provided at its upper end portion with a transverse bore 19 to receive the lower inturned end portions 13 of the torsion spring arms 9 and is also longitudinally channeled, see numeral 20, upwardly of the bore 19 to receive the depending mounting leg members 10. To assemble the torsion spring arms 9 with the liandle member 18 it is only necessary to fit the respective inturned end portions 13 of the torsion spring arms 9 into transverse bore 19 with the depending leg mounting members seated in the channel-s 20 and thence drive a sleeve 21 dimensioned to a snug fit with the outer end portion of the handle 18 and thus hold the respective torsion spring arms 9 in assembled relation with said handle. As best shown in FIG. 3 it will be noted that the upper end portion of the said handle is of slightly reduced diameter, see numeral 22, to receive the sleeve 21, said sleeve being driven onto said handle to the shoulder 23 formed on the handle by reducing the diameter thereof to afford a finished appearance.

Obviously, it is intended that the inherent spring tension is such that the same will expand outwardly when in normal untensioned position and when restricted by the sides of the slot 8 in the mop head or broom 7 will expand tightly against said sides to hold said mop head or broom in operating position.

The mop head or broom 7 is applied to the torsion spring arms 9 by gripping the opposed spring arms and compressing the same against spring tension until they overlie one another and then inserting the same into the slot 8 to the full depth thereof and thence in releasing. the tension of the tension spring arms 9 allowing the same to expand outwardly against the restrictions of the slot 8 in the mop head or broom 7.

While there are herein disclosed but one embodiment of the structure, process and product of the invention herein presented, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be imposed on the appended claims as are stated herein or required by the prior art.

What we claim is:

1. A cleaning implement of the class described comprising in combination, an elongated absorbent head having a narrow cavity extending a substantial distance therein and opening at one end of the head, a handle member having a short sleeve on one end portion thereof overlying a transverse bore and a pair of opposed, longitudinally disposed channels extending from said transverse bore to the adjacent end of said handle member, a pair of resilient-independently mounted unitary mounting members for said absorbent head, each mounting member comprising a relatively short leg having an inturned end portion, a laterally disposed coiled spring extending outwardly from said leg and terminating in a longitudinally extending outwardly biased spring arm having inner and outer side portions connected at their outer ends by a laterally extending portion, said inner portion being projected into engagement with the outer portion of said coiled spring to impart tension to the said spring arm, said pair of unitary resilient mounting members being detachably mounted on the handle member by positioning the depending legs of each thereof and the said inturned end portions thereof in the longitudinal channels and the transverse bore of the handle member respectively and thence driving the said sleeve into overlying, encircling engagement with the depending legs in the channels,

said absorbent head being detachably mounted on the assembled handle member and unitary resilient mounting members by manually compressing the opposed spring arms into overlapping engagement and inserting the same into the cavity of the absorbent head and thence releasing the same to enable said arms to expand into said cavity.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein each mounting member comprising the leg and its inturned end portion, the coiled spring and the spring arm is formed of a single piece of spring Wire.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,346 Vaughan et a1 July 11, 1916 1,420,180 Casmire June 20, 1922 2,076,345 Jelliffe et a1. Mar. 30, 1937 2,686,329 King Aug. 17, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 194,901 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1923 

